hi wine fans, i usually drink 1 bottle/half of red wine on the weekends only. i do not drink during the week...would this be considered binging or just normal...sometimes i go as far as 2 bottles in one night on any given weekend night...i really do not like drinking this much and i am trying to lower it down to a bottle (5 glasses).i would also like to know how much the members here drink of the red wine on a weekly basis...thanks...

thanks for the reply, but what do you mean if i dont drink any other alcohol? you mean if it was any harder alcohol than wine, then it would not be ok?? also, i only drink once on the either sat or sunday..never during the week..i still dont feel good in my own mind drinking 2 bottles or even a bottle/half..is it really hard on the liver or wouldhard liquor be worse? thanks again

You are talking 18 or so ounces of wine per night over two nights if you drink 1 1/2 bottles (750 ml) over that period. In my book that is two glasses. Provided the wine is consumed with food and followed with some water, particularly before retiring, your liver should hold up if it is in good shape to begin with.

hi foodie..thanks for your reply...it is not that i think i am an alcoholic, it is just that i like to hear from possible new members and new facts on the subject.it is important to me on new research, and if members here know the new information on red wine and health, it is important not for me but for everyone..i love red wine and i only drink cabernet, but i often drink red wine on the weekends, and i cannot remember a weekend that i have not had red wine..it does have a hold on you and yes i am addicted, i just dont want it to affect my liver. i never had problems with my liver and i do take proper care like take milk thistle and vitamin c before i take red wine.
i do like to hear new replies even though i may have asked this question before...

Milk thistle and vitamin C? I've done a lot of reading about wine and health, but that's really a new one on me. What in the world do milk thistle and vitamin C before drinking wine have to do with your health?

hello kCwhippet, thanks for your reply and question....milk thistle and vitamin C if taken before drinking red wine can protect the liver against the harm that alcohol stresses on the liver no matter what alcohol is consumed. i have been taken milk thistle and vitamin c for years. this does not mean that these findings are evaluated by the FDA, they are not, but research has shown that these two products show promising results from studies done over the years. milk thistle taken alone is good enough, but when taken with vitamin c, it is even better..i think now they even have milk thistle with vitamin c so that comsumers do not have to spend much..it is sold at the health food store.

Hi BH, I'm sort of newish on the board.... I cannot imagine 2 bottles of wine per night is too much, unless one feels that doing so interferes with other regularly pursued or routinely necessary activities.

For some people (many Europeans and Latin Americans, for example), a bottle or two of wine per day is an integral part of life, and many life patterns have to a certain extent evolved to accomodate peoples' eating and drinking rituals.

In the U.S. and in many other countries with important (powerful) Protestant-based populations, many of us have become conditioned to think of alcohol as a sin, so there are a lot of strong opinions about what "too much" alcohol is. (For some, any alcohol is too much.)

Interestingly, in the U.S., there is less of a stigma in activities such as watching two hours of tv per night, spending $200 on double-Snickers cappuccinos per month, and spending $2000 (or more) per year on "fashionable" clothes. But these activities can (though not always) indicate a form of excessive or dependent behavior that is ultimately detrimental to the mind and budget of the U.S. consumer.

So is any of these things too much? It all depends....

My own wine consumption fluctuates according to my work and other interests and obligations. Once in a while I'll drink the equivalent of a bottle or two per evening; much of the time I'll just have a glass or two; occasionally I spend up to several days at a time without (terrible!) due to work demands and other activities.

bridgehorse, In about the past 35 years or so, I've been in the wine business, I've read many, many wine reference books, I've done countless hours of research on the web, I've tasted more than countless bottles of wine, I have been acquainted with and have consulted many, many winemakers on many topics, and on, and on, and on. In all that time I have never heard of any reference to the use of milk thistle in relation to wine. Please give me your references to support your claim for the milk thistle liver protection. I'm really interested to hear what the authorities have to say.

KC, first i never said that milk thistle is for red wine only. milk thistle protects the liver with all alcohol if taken before drinking as well as vitamin c..if you need to check on these references, go to http://www.google.com and then look up milk thistle and there will be many articles on how good it is for the liver..
thanks for all of your replies..hope this helps..

Milk thistle has been shown to have some beneficial effects on the liver, especially in hepatitis C patients. It does NOT protect the liver against alcohol.

Numerous studies have shown that more than 3 standard drinks per day increases morbidity and mortality from numerous causes. Studies have also shown that binge drinking on weekends is much more harmful than spacing the same drinks out over the week.

Bucko, i would have to disagree with you that milk thistle does not protect the liver from alcohol..milk thistle actually protects the liver from any harmful stresses to the liver including alcohol and especially alcohol..there are numerous bottles of milk thistle that i take that says it and the research is there..Vitamin C does so as well...what do you consider the meaning of binge drinking?? how many drinks or bottles of wine is considered binge drinking? thanks

The manufacturers research is suspect at best. I've seen the data in Hepatology, Annals of Internal Medicine and other respected journals, plus my wife just so happens to be a gastroenterologist/hepatologist whom I osmose off of.

By many respected epidemiological studies, 21 drinks per week is the maximum that anyone should drink, and one source says 14 drinks on a weekend is a binge, or about 1 1/2 bottles a day.

According to those figures Buck-snort I binge-drink 7 days per.Just had my annual check-list and the 123over72 says I can get another 365 on the rite side of the grass. I haven't answered this before so as not to skew his figures. I too 'haint heered of that there milk thistle.WW

bridgehorse, I have been consuming wine for most of my life. For the past thirty years I have consumed at minimum 1/2 a bottle a day and often a little more. The only time I seem unable to consume wine is when I am ill, but I rarely get that sick.

Perhaps, since I exceed Bucko's reported 21 drinks in a week, I am on my way to morbidity faster than necessary. But my latest health physical (June 2003) shows a healthy liver, relatively good cholesterol levels and a blood pressure rate that couldn't be located with a seismic (sp) instrument.

I should add that I take a daily vitamin/mineral supplement made up of natural ingredients and chelated, rarely eat sweets, hardly ever add salt to my food, and do not eat much in the way of packaged processed foods. Aside from wine, I drink only water, grapefruit juice and, each morning, a strong espresso. Plus, I walk approximately 4 miles a day--unless I am being chased; then, I run...

The point being: good health is a matter of good eating bolstered by a reasonable lifestyle, not to mention a good dip of luck in the gene pool!